JPH06143728A - Printing control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a printing control method suitable for a printer having a multiline head enabling accurate printing without bringing about an increase in economical burden and the lowering of capacity. CONSTITUTION:The image data stored in an image data memory 10 are once developed on a plurality of work buffer memories in a line unit on the basis of printing data and subsequently developed on the line buffer memory 12 allowed to correspond to the printing line width of a printing head 3 to print the image data of a plurality of lines by one scanning printing operation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print control method for a printer which is frequently used as an output device such as a computer, and more particularly to a so-called multi-line which can print a plurality of print lines simultaneously as a print head. The present invention relates to a print control method suitable for a printer having a head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, various printers using a multi-line head for simultaneously printing a plurality of print lines have been proposed in order to improve the print speed.

As such a printer, for example, a recording medium such as paper and an ink ribbon coated with a heat-meltable ink are supported in front of a platen, and a plurality of desired print lines (print lines) are provided. The thermal elements as a multi-line head in which a plurality of heating elements corresponding to the width are arranged are reciprocally moved along with the carriage along the platen, and the heating elements arranged in the thermal head are transmitted from the computer. A thermal transfer printer or the like has been proposed which prints a plurality of print lines simultaneously in a single-scan printing operation to print an image of a desired character or the like on a recording medium such as paper by selectively heating the print medium based on print information. There is.

Further, the recording medium is fed in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the platen by an appropriate running means such as a paper feeding roller arranged upstream of the printing position in the running direction of the recording medium. Has become.

Further, in the thermal transfer printer, based on the print information transmitted from the computer, a CG (for example, an image data storage memory in which a character font of 48 dots or the like is stored in the thermal transfer printer, a character is stored). From the generator abbreviation), the print line width is stored in the line buffer memory in which desired image data is associated with the print line width of a plurality of lines of the thermal head (for example, 144 dots corresponding to three lines of a 48-dot character font). A print control method is used in which minute image data is expanded and image data for the print line width expanded in the line buffer memory is printed at one time. That is, it is possible to print a plurality of lines of character strings or bit images in one scan printing operation.

Further, in a thermal transfer printer using such a print control method, when 48-dot image data is developed with an appropriate margin (line feed width) in a line buffer memory having a print line width of 144 dots, for example,
As shown in FIG. 6, the image data of the first and second rows indicated by the data A and the data B can be expanded in the line buffer memory, but the image data of the third row indicated by the data C can be expanded. Only part of the upper part of the line in the figure will be expanded in the line buffer memory. That is, in the one-scan printing operation, the upper portions of the data A, the data B, and the data C are printed on the paper. The lower part of the data C is printed (divided printing) together with other data in the next printing operation. That is, by performing the divided printing, the ink ribbon is efficiently consumed and the printing speed is improved.

Further, in a thermal transfer printer, generally, as a position (printing position) of the recording medium with respect to the thermal head, a printable area in which the recording medium can be fed without leaving the traveling means, and the recording medium serves as the traveling means. An unprintable area (the trailing end portion of the recording medium in the running direction) is provided so that the print medium cannot be printed due to the separation.

[0008]

However, in the thermal transfer printer using the above-mentioned conventional print control method, when the print position is the final end position of the printable area near the rear end in the running direction of the recording medium. , There is no problem because the image data that is not divided in the line buffer is expanded and printing is performed properly if the paper is loaded correctly, but the image data is expanded in the line buffer when it is divided. If there is, there is a problem that only a part of the upper part of the last printed line is printed and the remaining part of the last printed line is printed on the first line of the next page.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, a part of a plurality of lines of image data stored in the line buffer memory, for example, the last line exceeds the printable area of the recording medium and enters the unprintable area. If all the image data of a plurality of lines stored in the line buffer memory are printed on the next page, the recording medium may be printed at the trailing end of the recording medium in the running direction (the lower part of the recording medium). Since there is a problem that a large margin occurs, it is unavoidable to expand the image data of only printable lines in the line buffer memory, and to expand the image data of only printable lines in the line buffer memory. However, it is necessary to arrange various sensors and use a complicated print control method, which increases the economical burden due to an increase in the number of parts and reduces the processing speed due to the use of the complicated print control method. , There is a problem that performance degradation of the printer, no print control method of performance degradation of the printer with a small economic burden has been desired.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and overcomes the above-mentioned problems with the conventional ones.
An object of the present invention is to provide a print control method suitable for a printer having a multi-line head that enables accurate printing without increasing an economic burden and reducing performance.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the print control method of the present invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a plurality of image data stored in the image data storage memory are stored on the basis of print information. Characteristic of printing image data of multiple lines in one scan printing operation by once expanding line by line in the work buffer memory and then expanding in line buffer memory corresponding to the print line width of the print head There is.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control method according to the first aspect, wherein a plurality of work buffers are used when the print position on the recording medium is the final end position of the printable area of the recording medium. The feature is that only the image data of the printable line is expanded in the line buffer memory and printed from the image data expanded in the memory.

[0013]

According to the print control method of the present invention having the above-described configuration, the desired image data is once expanded in a plurality of work buffer memories line by line, and then the line buffer is made to correspond to the print line width of the print head. Since it can be expanded in the memory, the image data can be easily controlled line by line. Since the image data can be easily controlled on a line-by-line basis, only the image data of the necessary lines can be easily expanded from the work buffer memory to the line buffer memory and printed.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the structure of the essential part of an embodiment in which the print control method according to the present invention is applied to a thermal transfer printer having a multi-line head.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the thermal transfer printer 1 to which the printing control method of this embodiment is applied, a multi-line head 144 mounted as a multi-line head on a carriage (not shown) so as to face the platen 2 is provided. A thermal head 3 having a print line width of dots is arranged. In addition,
The number of dots of the thermal head 3 may be any number as long as it can print desired plural print lines by one printing operation, and various ones can be selected depending on the number of CG dots and design concept described later. However, the present invention is not particularly limited to this example.

Further, on the left side of the thermal head 3 in the figure, a traveling means 5 for traveling the paper 4 as a recording medium in the direction of the platen 2 shown by the arrow in the figure is arranged. The traveling means 5 is composed of a paper feed roller 6 and an auxiliary roller 7. The paper feed roller 6 is made of an appropriate material and has a substantially circular cross section, is attached to an appropriate frame (not shown), and is rotatable by an appropriate drive means such as a drive motor (not shown). The auxiliary roller 7 is made of an appropriate material and has a substantially circular cross section. The auxiliary roller 7 can be brought into and out of contact with the paper feeding roller 6 with a predetermined abutting force, and can be rotated.

Further, a sheet end detecting means 8 such as an optical sensor for detecting the end of the sheet 5 and a limit switch is arranged behind the sheet 4 of the traveling means 5 in the traveling direction.

The positional relationship among the thermal head 3, the traveling means 5, and the sheet end detecting means 8 will be described. The head height of the thermal head 3 is H (for example, about 10 mm), and the thermal head 3 faces the traveling means 5 The end position is A, the center position of the traveling unit 5 is B, and the sheet 4 by the sheet end detection unit 8 is
If the end detection position of is C, the distance between AB is L2 (for example, about 12 mm), and the distance between BC is L1 (for example, 12 mm).
mm). Note that this positional relationship is not limited to this embodiment, and an appropriate distance may be determined according to the design concept and the like.

Further, at an appropriate position of the thermal transfer printer 1, at least based on printing information of a computer or the like (not shown) and information of the sheet end detecting means 8 or the like,
Desired control means 9 for controlling driving, stopping, etc. of the thermal head 3 and the traveling means 5 are arranged.

The control means 9 stores CG which stores image data such as a character font of at least 48 dots.
10 and the number of dots of the image data stored in the CG 10, a plurality of character widths of 48 dots in this embodiment, three work buffer memories 11 in this embodiment,
A line buffer memory 12 corresponding to a print line width for one print operation of the thermal head 3, 144 dots in this embodiment, a program storage memory for storing a control program (not shown), and the like are provided. The number of dots of the CG 10 can be selected variously and is not particularly limited to this embodiment. In addition, the number of work buffer memories 11 and the print line width of the line buffer memory 12 can be selected variously.
The present invention is not limited to this example.

Next, a printing control method applied to the thermal transfer printer 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of the print control method according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a state in which image data is expanded in a work buffer memory, and FIG. 4 is a main part. It is explanatory drawing which shows a positional relationship, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which image data expanded in a work buffer memory is expanded in a line buffer memory.

For the sake of explanation, the flow chart shown in FIG. 2 will be mainly described, and a supplementary explanation will be given with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

First, based on the print information, the image data of a desired character or the like is taken out from the 48-dot CG 10 and various decorations designated by a control code or the like are applied,
As shown in FIG. 3, the data A, the data B, and
The data C is sequentially expanded and stored, and the process is started.

Then, in step ST10, as shown in FIG. 4, the predetermined traveling distance M2 required for traveling the paper 4 from the previous printing position P0 to the next printing position P2 shown by the broken line in the figure is the print information. Based on
Then, the process proceeds to step ST11.

Next, in step ST11, the traveling means 5 is driven to start traveling of the sheet 4, and the process proceeds to the next step ST12.

Next, in step ST12, it is judged whether or not the paper end detecting means 8 has detected the end of the paper 4, and if the judgment in step ST12 is NO (the end of the paper 4 is not detected), then To step ST13.

Next, in step ST13, it is determined whether or not the sheet 4 has traveled the predetermined traveling distance M2, and if the determination in step ST13 is NO (the sheet 4 has not traveled the predetermined traveling distance M2). , Return to step ST12,
The traveling means 5 is driven until the determination in step ST13 becomes YES (traveling within the predetermined traveling distance M2). Then, the determination in step ST13 is YES (the predetermined traveling distance M
2), the traveling means 5 is stopped, the process proceeds to the next step ST14, and the image data (data A, data A) stored in the three work buffer memories 11, 11, 11 is stored in a row unit. B, data C) are developed at a predetermined position of the 144-dot line buffer memory 12, and then the process proceeds to the next step ST15.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the image data (data A, data B, data C) of line units of 48 dots expanded in the three work buffer memories 11, 11, 11 is 144 dots. When the line buffer memory 12 is developed with a desired margin (line pitch: α), the total number of dots (48 × 3 + 3α = 144)
+ 3α) exceeds 144 dots, which is the print line width of the line buffer memory 12, only a part of the image data (data C) of the bottom work buffer memory 11 shown by the solid line in the drawing is within the line buffer memory 12. Will be deployed to.

Next, in step ST15, the image data (data A, data B, data C) stored in the line buffer memory 12 is printed on the paper 4 by one scan of the thermal head (one printing operation). , And proceeds to the next step ST16.

The lowermost image data (data C) shown in FIG. 5A by the broken line is printed together with the other image data in the next printing operation.

Next, in step ST16, it is determined whether or not the end of the sheet 4 is detected in the series of steps (from step ST10 to step ST15) described above, and the determination in step ST16 is NO (the end of the sheet 4 is If not detected), the process returns to step ST10 to print the next line. When the determination in step ST16 is YES (the end of the sheet 4 has been detected), the process proceeds to the next step ST17, the traveling means 5 is driven, the page of the sheet 4 is changed, and the process is ended.

Further, the judgment in step ST12 is YES.
If S (the end of the sheet 4 has been detected), the process proceeds to the next step ST18 in order to set the printing position within the printable area of the sheet 4, and the sheet 4 is placed at the position shown in the center in FIG. In order to suspend the traveling, the traveling means 5 is temporarily stopped, the rear end position A of the thermal head 3 facing the traveling means 5 is set to the printing position P1, and then the process proceeds to the next step ST19.

Next, in step ST19, the traveling distance M1 of the sheet 4 until the end of the sheet 4 shown in the center of FIG. 4 is detected is stored in an appropriate memory (not shown), and the process proceeds to step ST20.

Next, in step ST20, the paper 4 is run for a distance L1 so as not to exceed the printable area of the paper 4 shown on the right side in FIG.
Proceed to 21.

Next, at step ST21, the actual traveling distance M1 + L1 of the sheet 4 shown in FIG. 4 actually traveled is calculated by an appropriate calculating means TA (TA = M1 + L1)
Then, the actual traveling distance TA of the sheet 4 is stored in an appropriate memory (not shown) and the process proceeds to the next step ST22.

Next, in step ST22, the paper 4 shown in FIG. 4 is printed from the previous print position P0 to the next print position P2.
The difference between the predetermined traveling distance M2 required to drive the sheet 4 and the actual traveling distance TA of the sheet 4 is calculated by an appropriate calculation means and is set to TB (TB = M2-TA).
Is stored in an appropriate memory (not shown) and the next step S
Proceed to T23.

Next, at step ST23, the four work buffer memories 11, 11 and 11 are loaded into the four work buffer memories 11.
Image data in units of 8 dots (data A, data B,
The data C is continuous image data (for example, image data in which one character is formed of 144 dots by three lines of data A, data B, and data C, and data B such as double-width characters).
By making the data C continuous, it is determined whether or not the image data is such that one character is formed by 96 dots. That is, it is determined whether or not the line-by-line image data (data A, data B, data C) expanded in the work buffer memories 11, 11, and 11 can be divided line by line, and step ST
If the determination in 23 is NO (line-by-line division is not possible), the process proceeds to step ST17. Then, if the determination in step ST23 is YES (dividable in line units), the process proceeds to the next step ST24.

Next, in step ST24, as shown in FIG. 5B, the image data in the work buffer memory 11 is transferred to the line buffer memory 12 by the difference TB in the moving distance.
Is corrected and expanded (positional correction expansion), it is determined whether or not there is image data that can be printed (not divided and printed) without dividing the line, such as data A and data B, and the determination in step ST24 is NO ( If there is no image data that is not divided and printed), the process proceeds to step ST17. If the determination in step ST23 is YES (there is image data that is not divided and printed), the process proceeds to the next step ST25.

Next, in step ST25, as shown in FIG. 5B, printable image data, such as data, in the work buffer memory 11 is removed from the area of the line buffer memory 12 excluding the area added with the distance TB. Only A and data B are expanded (position correction expansion)
Proceed to 15.

As described above, according to this embodiment, as long as the print position is within the printable area of the sheet 4, the image data of desired characters and the like is extracted from the CG 10 based on the print information, and the control code and the like are obtained. After performing various decorations designated by, the image data stored in the work buffer memory 11 is sequentially expanded and stored line by line, and the image data stored in the work buffer memory 11 is associated with the print line width. It is possible to repeat the printing operation in which the image data of a plurality of lines stored in the line buffer memory 12 are sequentially developed and stored, and the image data of a plurality of lines are printed by the printing operation of one scan of the thermal head 3.

When the print position exceeds the printable area of the sheet 4 (when the sheet end detecting means 8 detects the end of the sheet 4), the sheet 4 is moved to the final end position of the printable area. Only the printable image data in this area can be expanded and printed from the work buffer memory 11 configured in units of lines to the line buffer memory 12.

That is, the image data of the thermal head 3, which is a multi-line head capable of simultaneously printing a plurality of print lines, can be easily controlled line by line.

Therefore, the conventional architecture of the print control method of the thermal transfer printer (not shown) that prints on a line-by-line basis can be used for the print control method of the thermal transfer printer 1 having a multi-line head. It is possible to easily and quickly develop a firmware program of the print control method.

Further, the printing control method of the present embodiment has exemplified the case where the thermal head 3 as the multi-line head is used for the thermal transfer printer 1, but it is naturally applied to various impact printers, ink jet printers and the like. can do.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified as necessary.

[0048]

As described above, according to the print control method of the present invention, it is possible to easily control the print control method in the multi-line head on a line-by-line basis. It has an extremely excellent effect of not causing damage.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an embodiment in which a print control method according to the present invention is applied to a thermal transfer printer having a multi-line head.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a print control method according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which image data is expanded in a work buffer memory.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship of main parts.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which image data expanded in a work buffer memory is expanded in a line buffer memory, where a indicates a state of the line buffer memory in a normal printing state, and b indicates an end of a printable area. The state of the line buffer memory at the position is shown.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which image data is expanded in a line buffer memory according to a conventional print control method.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating divided printing when a printable area of a recording medium is exceeded by a conventional print control method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Thermal Transfer Printer 3 Thermal Head 4 Paper 5 Traveling Means 8 Paper End Detection Means 9 Control Means 10 CG 11 Work Buffer Memory 12 Line Buffer Memory

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A line buffer in which image data stored in an image data storage memory based on print information is temporarily expanded in a plurality of work buffer memories on a line-by-line basis and then corresponding to a print line width of a print head. A printing control method characterized in that a plurality of lines of image data are printed in a single scanning printing operation by expanding the data in a memory. 2. When the print position on the recording medium reaches the end position of the printable area of the recording medium, only the image data of the printable line is lined from the image data expanded in the plurality of work buffer memories. The printing control method according to claim 1, wherein the printing is performed by expanding the data in a buffer memory and printing.